Charissa Jean Thompson[1] (born May 4, 1982) is an American television host and sportscaster working for Fox Sports and Amazon Prime Video.

[4] During the season, Thompson dyed her hair black to "rid [herself] of the Barbie thing," as she is notably blond.

[14] Her change of hair color drew attention from some sports blogs; Deadspin ran an article titled: "Charissa Thompson Continues Down Suicidal Path to Frumpyville".

[citation needed] Also in 2009, co-hosted Big Saturday Night on Game Show Network (GSN),[20] and appeared on Shaq Vs. as a sideline reporter.

She was also recently added as a co-host for the Speed Network's "Fast Track To Fame" alongside now retired NASCAR driver-owner turned Fox Sports analyst Michael Waltrip.

In June and July 2010, Thompson covered the FIFA World Cup in South Africa for Yahoo!

A month later, Versus dropped Thompson and Lindsay Soto from their ice-level reporting staff after the NBC-Comcast merger; they were replaced by Pierre McGuire, Brian Engblom, and Darren Pang, forming the Inside the Glass team.

[2][23] In 2013, Thompson joined actor Joey Lawrence as a co-host of the ABC's reality TV series Splash, where star contestants dive from Olympic-style platforms and are scored on their performance by Olympic divers, David Boudia and Steve Foley as well as the voting TV audience.

[25] Thompson hosts Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime, the NFL's first package of games available only via streaming.

[26] In a November 2023 interview with Barstool Sports, Thompson admitted to fabricating aspects of her sideline reporting.

[27] She was criticized by other sideline reporters as well as the Society of Professional Journalists, which said, "SPJ’s ethics code addresses truth, harm, independence and accountability.

She gets the trifecta for destroying three ethical tenets with her lying.”[28] On November 17, 2023, Thompson posted a statement on Instagram in an attempt to clarify her admission.

In 2014, she joined Mario Lopez and Tracey Edmonds as a co-host on the syndicated television show Extra.

[30] Thompson also joined Top Rank's broadcasting team for the Manny Pacquiao vs. Jessie Vargas pay-per-view event.

[38] That June, she spoke about the incident to The Athletic, stating "When it comes to your physical being and intimate photos between you and your boyfriend and things that you sent to someone when you were in a long-distance relationship and in love, it is your private property.